Smaller mergers on the increase
Experian®, the global information services company, today revealed that small transactions (under £10m) dominated the UK ECM (equity capital markets) and M&A market in Q1 2013, increasing by 6.3 per cent (from 319 in Q1 2012 to 357 deals in Q1 2013).
It says the increase can largely be attributed to a substantial upturn in the volume of smaller scale equity fundraising from UK public companies, which increased transactions from 116 worth £225 million in Q1 2012 to 225 worth £334million in Q1 2013.
Only five very large deals (worth more than £1billion) were announced during Q1 2013, compared with nine in Q1 2012. The largest of these deals saw US cable television group Liberty Global agree to purchase Virgin Media in a deal worth approximately £15 billion.